The Louisville area has improved 55 spots in an annual ranking of community well-being, putting it closer to the middle of the pack than scraping the bottom.

Louisville is ranked at 108 out of 189 communities in the 2016 Community Well-Being Rankings, which are part of the Gallup-Healthways State of American Well-Being series.

The Louisville area “is not an A-plus but not doing terribly poorly either,” said Susan Frankle, managing director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. “There was big improvement from (the) 2015 rankings to this year’s rankings.”

The ranking for this metropolitan statistical area includes Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Meade, Oldham, Shelby and Trimble counties in Kentucky plus Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Scott and Washington counties in Indiana.

“We’re pleased but not surprised to see Louisville show significant progress on this year’s ... rankings, with an energized economy, low unemployment and a significant reduction in the number of uninsured," Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement. "In the last six years, we’ve added 61,000 new jobs, opened 2,600 new businesses and welcomed more than $9 billion in capital investment.”

Each of the 189 communities received a well-being score that reflects not just on health but things like managing one's finances, feeling proud of the community and having social support. Louisville ranked low in terms of physical health but did better in other areas, including a category related to achieving goals.

The well-being score is intended to be “a very broad, comprehensive measure that includes not only the physical pieces but the other pieces that impact your life,” Frankle said.

“We are a city on the rise, and it’s nice to be recognized for that work.”

Mayor Greg Fischer

Louisville was ranked 163 out of 190 communities last year, which put it in the bottom quintile. But this year it’s in the third quintile.

“Employers should really take notice of this and it should be on their dashboards because as you improve well-being, health-care costs go down,” Frankle said.

Also, “for community leaders, it’s really relevant because as you improve well-being, the vibrancy of the place in which you live goes up - increases,” she said. “So community leaders are interested in making sure that they improve the well-being of the ... residents that live in their area.”

Communities in the top 10 overall include the Naples, Florida area (No. 1); the Santa Cruz area of California (No. 3); Lynchburg, Virginia (No. 8); and Boulder, Colorado (No. 10). The Lexington area is ranked No. 133 overall.

The data that is used is based on more than 354,000 telephone interviews with U.S. adults across the country from Jan. 2, 2015 to Dec. 30, 2016.

The rankings reflect communities’ Well-Being Index Score, which is made up of five different elements: Purpose, which is liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals; Social, which is having supportive relationships and love in your life; Financial, which is managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security; Community, which is liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community; and Physical, which is having good health and enough energy to get things done daily.

The Louisville area ranks at 150 for Physical, an improvement from 171 in 2015. This element includes things like chronic conditions, happiness, stress and obesity, Frankle said.

The area earned an “impressive” rank of 54 – compared to 120 in 2015 – in the Financial category, Frankle noted. That element includes things like having enough money to do everything you want to do, whether you’ve been worried about money recently and how you feel about your standard of living.

Another bright spot was the Purpose category, where Louisville ranked 80, up from 116. That relates to things like there being a leader in your life who makes you enthusiastic about the future and that you like what you do every day, Frankle said.

NEWSLETTERS

Get the Dining newsletter delivered to your inbox

We're sorry, but something went wrong

The latest on Louisville dining, recipes, the city's celebrity chefs and more!